Thread: Honing at the 1k level

Here is a visual of the blade I did in MS Paint.

The blue is the bevel I have set/am setting. The white part is the previous bevel.

So essentially the white part is where you would still see the magic marker.

Also that little wiggle in the middle and towards the heel is really there. I put it there on purpose for accuracy. Maybe it can give you guys more info on the overall blade. The one in the middle leaves a tiny bit of room for a bevel, but the one in back doesn't seem to give any room at all.

I just don't want to try anything too drastic before I hear from the experts. I'd hate to break another blade.

From your picture it looks like you're getting a bevel across everything but you're getting a thicker bevel across the center. If that's the case, it's ok to have a bit thicker bevel (as long as it's not a huge difference). It could be because you're putting a bit more pressure in the middle of the blade or because that part of the edge is spending more times on the hone (X pattern can cause this mixed with pressure changes). If you have a bevel across the whole razor edge then I would just progress up.

Another thing to check: when did you last lap (flatten) your hone?

I'm pretty sure the hone is flat, but I'll double check tonight with a grid pattern.

Secondly, the bevel I'm making (the blue part on the picture) doesn't actually go to the very edge or the blade. It stops just before each end. Is this still acceptable?

OH! Also another thing to note; while checking the sharpness I found that the middle part was sharper than the edges. That's why I didn't want to progress any further since I wasn't getting something consistent.

My first instinct was to put more pressure to even out the metal and allow for more contact with the edges, but I could see myself doing more harm than good so I stopped and decided to take a break for a bit.

It could be a difference in pressure or the extent to which the blade was rocked at the toe/heal. Maybe the previous honer used more pressure at the toe/heal than you are, or maybe you are using more pressure in the center than he did. Or maybe the previous honer used a more extreme/pronounced rock at the toe and heal. It could also just be from the factory bevel set; I've seen that happen before. As a general rule, I don't worry about what's above my bevel, I only care about the edge.

If your bevel's are not running all the way to the edge, then your razor will not get any sharper - you'll just get shiny bevels. Think of a plateau instead of a mountain; no matter what the slopes look like, they are different on top. Another way to think of it would be "honing" a razor that was breadknifed without actually resetting the bevel all the way.

I wouldn't use more pressure as a solution; there is always a better way (imo).

BTW, if you are using tape but not getting to the edge, there is no way the previous honer got to the edge without tape (assuming you are honing properly). Using tape increases the angle, which decreases the amount of metal that must be removed at the back of the bevel. If your edge is not set with tape, it would have been farther off without tape.

Originally Posted by tmac123

Secondly, the bevel I'm making (the blue part on the picture) doesn't actually go to the very edge or the blade. It stops just before each end. Is this still acceptable?

Ack, based on your reply I see a problem with my verbage. When I said the bevel doesn't go to the very edge I meant the left and right (toe and heel. As you can see in the picture the blue line doesn't make it along the entire length of the blade. I wasn't sure if this was acceptable or how to fix it.

As far as the "middle" (95%) of the blade portion in blue, the bevel does go to the edge.

I hope this makes better sense now.

Maybe using the word "end" rather than "edge" would have been more clear?

Originally Posted by tmac123

Ack, based on your reply I see a problem with my verbage. When I said the bevel doesn't go to the very edge I meant the left and right (toe and heel. As you can see in the picture the blue line doesn't make it along the entire length of the blade. I wasn't sure if this was acceptable or how to fix it.

As far as the "middle" (95%) of the blade portion in blue, the bevel does go to the edge.

I hope this makes better sense now.

Oh, that's your call then. If you want to use the toe and heal, you'll need the razor honed there, but if not it doesn't matter. Sometimes I'll skip out on the very heal on my own razors, but I like having the edge all the way to the toe because I find the toe useful for precise work/touchups.

Originally Posted by LawsonStone

Maybe using the word "end" rather than "edge" would have been more clear?

Yup, that's what I get for being a newb. Sorry for the confusion.

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

Oh, that's your call then. If you want to use the toe and heal, you'll need the razor honed there, but if not it doesn't matter. Sometimes I'll skip out on the very heal on my own razors, but I like having the edge all the way to the toe because I find the toe useful for precise work/touchups.

I think I'm the same way and would like the toe honed. What do I have to adjust in my stroke to do so? Or would I maybe have to do/fix something with the spine?

Would you suggest me submitting a video of my honing stroke to see if you guys can I.D. something I'm blatently doing wrong?

There are a bunch of things you could try... Personally, I would play with exaggerating the roll. But don't go crazy lifting the scales, or you'll make it worse. Start out really slight and keep the pressure minimal. Do a bunch of strokes before you lift any more, to give the bevel a chance to come in.

Chances are others would approach this differently.

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

There are a bunch of things you could try... Personally, I would play with exaggerating the roll. But don't go crazy lifting the scales, or you'll make it worse. Start out really slight and keep the pressure minimal. Do a bunch of strokes before you lift any more, to give the bevel a chance to come in.

Chances are others would approach this differently.

I have a feeling I'm doing the rolling X stroke wrong....anyone know of any video's that are accurate in displaying how to properly do it?

On another note; being terribly optimistic of course; I was reading earlier and someone said that you can do the "Shave test" on just side burns if needed. My question is: Can you do this on bare skin and still get that nice glide from a good razor? Or do you really need to have some lather or even some olive oil for it?

Lastly, thank you guys all so much for all the feedback. I've only just begun getting into straight's, and am finding myself quite addicted. But I can't tell you how much I've learned in just a short amount of time.

The problem now is that so many questions are coming up and I hope I'm not bogging/bothering you guys. But hopefully there's other newbs that are benefitting from all the traffic on this thread.

Again, thank you!